Concrete block machine



Feb.4,1936. L. GELBMAN 2,029,365

CONCRETE BLOCK MACHINE Filed Dec. 9, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet l Feb. 4, 1936. l.. GELBMAN CONCRETE BLOCK MACHINE Filed Dec. 9, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Feb. 4, 1936. L. GELBMAN CONCETE BLOCK MACHINE Feb. 4, 1936. GELBM AN 2,029,365

CONCRETE BLOCK MACHINE Filed Deo. 9, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Louie, QELBMHN.

Patented Feb.v 4, 1936 UNITED 4 STATES PATENT OFFICE o o 2,029,365 v o CONCRETE BLOCK MACHINE Y Louis Gelbinan, Ynnkers, N. Y. Application December a, 1930, serial Nn. 501,029 s claims; (cl. 25-41) This invention relates to new and useful improvements in a concrete block machine, and is directed to similar subject matter as that disclosed in my prior patent application, Serial No.v

422,984, led on January 24th, 1930.

In a concrete block machine which has a mold resiliently suspended and means for jolting the mold vertically, and which has a feed drawer which travels transversely across the top of the moldto charge the latter element, it should be 'recognized that such traveling of the mold tends to produce stresses and bending upon the resilient mounting of the molding which-wears it out in undue time.

It is an object of this invention to provide a means to prevent such feed drawer from pushing the mold materially out of line relative to the jolting mechanism and thus relieve undue stresses and wear.

It is another object of this invention to provide rollers associatedwith the means for preventing undue stresses, which rollers are adapted n to support the feed tray loosely so that the latter element may pivot during the jolting of the mold and rock and roll for reducing caking effects of the material within the feed drawer and facilitate jolting. In practice, the feed drawer must deliver a larger charge of material than the mold can accept, and since this material is exposed to jolting it tends to cake.

In'- concrete block machines which have a feed drawer and a shutter capable of riding beneath a, hopper, it has been found that there is a tendency for the material passing through the hopper and into the feed drawer to leak out from the joint between these parts. It is another object of this invention to provide an efficient seal at the sides of the hopper to prevent such leakage.

In concrete block machines, it is customary to place pallets within the mold and then toV enter the material to be formed into the building block into the mold on top of the pallets. This material leaks around, and gets on bottom of the pallet and soon becomes hardened at certain places which would tend to hold subsequent pallets crooked and form blocks which were not true.

It is still a further object of this invention to arrange support bars connecting the cores with the remaining portions of the mold so as to expose knife shaped top edges upon which the pallets should rest so that during jolting any material which passes the pallet would run down along the knife edge and not deposit at the top which would cause subsequent pallets to be in crooked positions.

The trade requires blocks of different sizes, and

it is proposed to so design the mold that it may be changed for producing blocks lof different size. Such an. alteration would necessarily mean a change inV the stripping mechanism which strips the blocks from the mold.

It is another object of this invention to arrange an inclinedelement beneath the mold so that waste from thev mold may run off, and to pass posts through this inclined element for supporting a frame carrying stripper rods so that the 10 rods may be changed to accommodate different` molds, and said rods to'connect with stripping mechanism below ,said inclined element whereby a change of the stripping rods may take place without disturbing the remaining portion of the 15 stripping mechanism. l

The intention of the feed drawer is to deliver a charge of materialover the mold so as just to completely ll the mold. In practice, this is not possible, and consequently the feed drawer is 20 arranged to deliver a charge slightly greater than is needed. During the jolting, this excess charge has its consistency changed so that it becomes materially hard. Upon the return of the feed drawer to receive .another charge, some of this 25 material will be forced upwards and tend to prevent the complete return of the feed drawer.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide a means which would allow the full return of the feed drawer even though excess 30 material projects above the top of the feed drawer.

It is a further object of this invention to provide means to direct the lling of the feed drawer so that it has the correct amount of material 35 when it moves over the mold.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide a means for breaking down the caking of the excess material in the feed drawer. It is particularly proposed to actuate this means dur- 40 ing the jolting of the mold so that the caked material falls quickly into the mold together with the remaining charge.

In building block machines of the type me tioned, there is the necessity of two main con- 45 trois, namely a control for causing the feed drawer to move from its filling position into its discharging position, and a control for causing the stripping mechanism to move upwards to strip blocks from the mold. 50

It is another object of this invention to provide a means for locking the operation of the feed drawer when the stripper rods are up, and also for locking the operation of the stripper rods when the feed drawer is out to prevent possible 55 damage upon incorrect operation of the controls. It should be noticed that the mold of the machine is a multiple one which forms a plucapacity.

It is another object of this invention to provide a means and a method-to take away the blocks in a group from the mold so as not to l interfere with efficient operation of the machine.

A further object of this invention is to provide automatic means for supporting the jolting of the mold upon the extension of the feed drawer and to time this jolting for a predetermined period.

Another object of this invention is to provide manual means to add as much time whenever necessary to the automatic jolting time of the mold. It sometimes occurs that for some reason or other, the blocks have not been suiciently packed into the mold, and the provision of an extension of time of jolting is very requisite when this occurs.

Another object of this invention is to provide manual means for stopping the jolting at any time as a safety device in the event that an emergency arises.

For further comprehension of the invention,

and of the objects and advantages thereof, reference will be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, and to the appended claims in which the various novel features of the inventionl are more particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawings forming a ma terial part of this disclosure:-

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a concrete block machine constructed according to this invention. I

Fig. 2 is an end elevational view of Fig. 1, seen from the right hand end. f

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan view of the machine shown in Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the line 3--3 of the latter figure.

' Fig. 4 is a fragmentary elevational view looking in the direction of the line 4 4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of one of the cores of the mold showing the knife edges.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the inclined 'element which is positioned below the mold to shield the stripping mechanism.

Fig. 7 is a. fragmentary sectional view showing the stripping mechanism in detail.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary enlarged detailed sectionalview taken on the line 8 8 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary enlarged detailed horizontal sectional view taken on the line 9 9 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on thel line Ill-I0 of Fig. 1. A

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary detailed view of one of the clutch cups shown in Fig. 10.

Fig. l2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line I 2-I2 of Fig. 10.

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary sectional view taken `on the une la-ls of Fig. 2.

Fig. 14 is an enlarged detailed view of a portion of Fig. 13.

Fig, 15 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line, I5-I5 of Fig. 13.

Fig. 16 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line I6-I6 of Fig. 13.

aonases Fig. 17 is a fragmentary sectional view of one of the jolt housings shown in Fig. l.

Fig. 18 is a schematic wiring diagram of the electrical parts of the machine.

Fig. 19 is a perspective view of the apparatus used for removing the blocks when stripped from the mold, and Fig. 20 is a perspective view of one of the trays used in conjunction with the rack shown in Fig. 19.

'I'he concrete block machine includes a horizontal mold I0. means for jolting the mold, means lfor stripping blocks from said mold, a stationary hopper II to one end of the mold, a feed drawer I2 supported for moving from under said hopper to a position on said mold, a stationary plate I 3 closing the bottom of said feed drawer when beneath the hopper, a shutter I4 connected with said feed drawer for closing the bottom of the hopper I I when the feed drawer is over the mold, and means for moving said feed drawer.

The-mold I 0 is opened at the top and at the bottom and is formed with several partitions I5 to divide it into various compartments so as to form a plurality of blocks each time. Each of the compartments have cores I6 for forming the hollowv openings in the blocks. 'Ihese cores are supported by strips I1 connected with the sides of the mold. The tops of the strips I1 are sharpened so as to represent knife edges clearly illustrated in Fig. 5. It is customary to place pallets in the various sections of the molds and upon the strips I I before the material is settled into the mold. Thereafter, when the material is stripped from the mold, it is stripped together with the pallets and thus placed through the various treatment operations. The knife edges act to extreme advantage in that when some of the concrete from within the mold passes the pallet and deposits upon the strips I1 through the vibration of the mold, it necessarily will slip oii` from the knife edges so that subsequent pallets placed within the compartments of the mold will rest true upon the strips for forming blocks having square corners. Should the pallets be at inclinations due to the building up of some of the concrete on the strips, crooked blocks will be produced. i

0n the longitudinal sides of the mold I2, as

clearly shown in Figs. 1,3, and 4, support strips or shims I8` are secured and support tracks I 9. The tracks comprise spaced bars between which rollers 20 are rotatively supported and project above the top edges. 'I'hese rollers are intended to support the feed drawer I2 when the latter element ismoved over the mold. One advantage of supporting the feed drawer upon the rollers vis that during the vibration of the mold, it will Jiggle and rock on they rollers which will aid to discharge its contents against the caking effect of the concrete left over from a previous charge. Further, the tracks and rollers serve to reduce the frictional contact of the' feed drawer I2 as it passes from under ,the hopper onto the mold so as not to cause stresses which would place the resilient supporting of the mold out of alignment, producing undue wear. y

The means for jolting the mold I0 has been explained in minute detail in my copending application, Serial No. 422,984 filed January 24th, 1930. Briefly, the means consists of a frame 2l attached upon the bottom of the mold and suitably cut out so as not to hinder the passage of stripper rods to lift the pallets from the mold, or the passage of concrete material which gets past ysheet member.

the pallets downwards. Several jolt housings 22 support the frame 2|. Preferably these jolt housings are arranged at each of the corners of the mold. Each jolt housing comprises an upper casing section 23 slightly spaced from the lower casing section 24 resiliently supported by an expansion spring 25 within the casing` sections,

tending to urge them apart. A bolt 26 is extended through the jolt housing and serves. to limit the amount of possible motion in one direction, while the small spaces between the casing sections limits the amount of possible motionin the other direction. Nuts 21 are xed upon the bolt 26 so as to be adjustable to arrange for the correct amount of clearance. A transverse shaft 28 is supported across the bottom of the frame 2| by standards attached upon the frame, and oifset weights 29 are fixed upon the shaft so that upon rotation of the shaft jolting occurs. The casing sections 23 or 24 are soy arranged so as to limit possible motion of the sections to the vertical to cause the jolting to occur vertically. Covers 30 are placed over the weight and attached upon the frame 2| so as to guard the weights. A pulley 3| is attached upon one end of the shaft 28 and carries a belt 32 extended over a pulley 33 upon the shaft of a motor 34 supported upon I beams 35 included in the frame of the machine. The lower sections 24 of the jolt housings are attached upon a frame'structure 36- insulated with a rubber pad 36b upon the frame structure v36 having a base portion 31 for resting upon the ground. Preferably, the frame structure should include four vertical members at the corners beneath each of the jolt housings. A compartment is enclosed by this frame, and plates 38 are arranged upon the sides of the frame to conclude the enclosing of the compartment. Within this compartment the stripping mechanism -is arranged.

The means for stripping the blocks from the mold 'comprises slides 39 arranged to slide vertically upon guides 40. A shaft 4| is rotatively supported betweenA the plates 38 and carries radial arms 42 pivotally connected with one of the ends of links 43 which are pivotally connected at theirends ony the slide 39. Posts 44 project from the slide4 39 and support a horizontal frame 45 from which a plurality of stripping rods- 46 project. These stripping rods are so arranged as to be at the corners of the various compartments forming the blocks in the mold I0, as may-be seen from an inspection of Fig. 3.` Thus when the stripping mechanism moves upwards, the pallets which support the various molded blocks will be moved upwards and out from the mold. An inclined sheet member 41 is arranged immediately below the frame 45, and the posts 44 pass through oil packing elements 48 mounted on the inclined The sheet member 41 serves to protect the stripping mechanism from the concrete material which falls past the pallets.

It is very desirablein a machine of this type to arrange it so that the mold may be replaced by a diierent mold so that blocks of different sizes may be manufactured. A change of the `mold will raise the necessity of changing the positions of the stripper rods 46. The frame 45 is so constructed that such changes are readily possible. Preferably, spare threaded apertures should be provided so that the stripper rods may assume new positions. A feature of this invention is that a change in the position of the various stripper rods can be made without disturbing the strip- Y that it may be readily done without disturbing themechanism below the sheet member. Lugs 46* are attached upon the frame 36 and receive side arms 49 from a container 66 which serves to receive the material sliding down the inclined sheet member 41. The container 50 is removable by merely lifting it vertically upwards, and should be emptied every now and then when it becomes too full. This arrangement is very useful in that it eliminates a lot of labor to clean the machine after a. days work in that most of the waste concrete material can be scraped of! of the inclined member A41 and into the container 60.

The means for stripping the blocks also includes a sprocket 5| fixed upon the shaft 4I and connected with a chain 62 extended over an idler 53 adjustably mounted so as to be movable to new positions to correct the tension of the chain 5|. The chain 52 extends over a sprocket 54 upon a shaft 55 rotatively supported by standards 56. A gear 51 is fixed upon the shaft55 and meshes with a driver pinion 58 upon a shaft 59 parallel with the shaft 55 and directly over it, and held rotatively supported.V A driver pulley 60 is ixed upon the extended end of the shaft 59 and is intended for connection with a driver belt for providing the power for the machine. A clutch is arranged upon the shaft 55 and consists of a clutch cup 6.| slidably keyed upon the shaft 55 and carrying pins 62 engageable in apertures in the side of the gear 51. A spring 63 is coaxially arranged upon the shaft 55 and normally urges the clutch cup 6| so that its pins 62 are out of engagement with the gear 51. A roller 64 is supported upon a stationary axis 65 and normally bears against the cup 6| so as to hold the cup ywith its pins 62 in engagement with the apertures in the gear 51. The cup 6| is formed with recesses 66 at 180 from each other and so formed that when these recesses reach the roller 64, the spring 63 may urge the cup into the position, as

shown in Fig. 10, in which the pins 62 are out of ranged between the link 10 and a plate 13 supported upon the frame of the machine. The standards 56 are also supported upon the said plate 13. The lever 1| is fixed upon the shaft 14 supported by standards 15 upon the frame of the machine. When the lever 1| 'is manually moved, the link 10 will move correspondingly so as to pivot the fork 61 and urge the clutch cup 6| so that its pins engage the gear 51. Upon the slightest rotation from the gear 51, the clutch cup' will have turned so that the recess 66 rides out from the roller 64. Then the lever 1| should be moved back into its original position, and the roller 64 will keep the clutch cup in its engaged position until the next recess 66 is reached, when the spring 63 will return the clutch cup into its disengaged position. The sprockets 54 and 5| should be of the same sizes so that for each half revolution of the clutch cup 6|, the shaft 4| will rotate one half revolution also and Vmove the radial arm 42 correspondingly. lThe parts should be arranged so that in a lowered position of the slide 39, the radial arm 42 extends vertically downwards, as illustrated in Fig. l. 'I'hen upon a 180 rotation, the vertical arm extends upwards of Fig. 16.

and thus raised the stripping mechanism into its operative position. r

'lhehopper II issupportedbybraces 18 attached upon the frame of the machine. In Fig. 2thebracescanbeverydistinctlyseenextending upwards from the frame and arranged adjacent the sides of the hopper. In Fig. 1 a panel board 11 is shown attached upon the front braces 16. At the sides 'and at the bottom the hopper II is formed with inverted V-shaped grooves 18 for the reception of corresponding projections fmm the feed drawer I2 and from the shutter Il. In Fig. 16 these V-shaped grooves are clearly shown extending the complete length of the front and rear sides of the hopper. Within the hopper and arranged on the left hand end, referring to Fig.`1, there is a ap 19 pivotally supported and extending the complete width of the hopper. The hinge point is illustrated in Fig. 13 by reference numeral 89. Extensions 8| are adjustably attached upon the iiap 19 so as to be extendable to any desirable position relative to the top edge of the feed drawer I2. 0n the right hand end of the hopper, there is a guide plate 82 arranged at an angle and rigidly attached. An angular extension 83 is adjustably connected with the guide plate 82 so as to be extendable to various posit-ions. The extension 83 and the guide plate 9,2 extend the complete width of the hopper, as may be seen from As the concrete enters the hopper, the extension willdetermine the piling of the concrete into the hopper so that it will not overflow over the right hand end of thc feed drawer onto the shutter Il. Obviously. as the extension 83 is raised or lowered, the angle oflling of the feed drawer will be adjusted, and by trial the correct amount of lling can be obtained- As the feed drawer I2 moves outward to its position over the mold, excess materia] will be forced upwards by the extension 8| and the flap 19 which act as a shear to cut off the `excess material from the feed drawer. When the feed drawer returns from its extended position over the mold back to its position to the hopper, the excess of the charge which is sheared off from the top of the mold will build up at one end of the feed drawer, and for this reason an extended lip 84 is arranged upon the feed drawer so as to prevent the overflow. This built-up charge can pivot the ap 19 inwards so that the feed drawer I2 may return to its fully retracted position. 0f

course, if not for the flap, upon the return of the feed drawer its excess material would get in between the hopper and the lip 8l and prevent proper closing of the drawer. In the event that the lip was not provided, the excess material would overiiow and stop up the entire machine. The feed drawer I2 is open at its top and at its bottom, as clearly shown in Figs. 13 and 15. Along the longitudinal sid, it is formed with projecting -V portions 85 which ride into the V lgrooves 18 formed in the hopper so as to provide a seal to prevent the leakage of the material from the hopper through the joint of these parts. As shown in Fig. 13, the ends of the feed drawer are hollow for the reception of means to prevent the caking of the material within the feed drawer. The opened poron of the feed drawer should be ofsuch size that it fits-directly beneath the hopper and held so that when positioned over comprises a-plurality of longitudinal rods 89 slidably mounted in one end of the feed drawer and through the other end so as to project to the exterior. Rollers 81 are mounted upon the extended ends of the rods 89. Brackets 88 are attached upon the end of the feed drawer and encircle the various rods 8,6. These brackets are The action of the springs is to normally urge the rods outwards. A plurality of arms 93 are xed upon the rods 99 and extend downwards to near the bottom of the feed drawer.

Standards 94 project from the outside of the feed drawer I2 and support a transverse shaft 95 carrying a plurality of cams 96 coactable against the rollers 91 for depressing the plungers against the actions of the springs 92. A gear 91 is fixed upon the shaft 95 and meshes with a gear 98 upon a stud shaft 99 carrying a bevel gear |99 in mesh with another bevel gear I 9| upon a shaft |92 which is formed of two sections connected by a exible coupling |93 located at the junction between the feed drawer I2 and the shutter I4. The shaft |92 connects with an electric motor I 94 attached upon the outer end of the shutter Il.

'I'he supporting of the feed drawer I2 is accomplished by overhanging portions |95 shown in Fig. 1. These overhanging portions are similar to the overhanging DOrtions |96 of the shutter I4. 'Ihese overhanging portions rest upon rollers |91 supported` by spaced bars |98 attached upon strips or shims |99 fixed upon longitudinal channels I I9 of the frame of the machine. These longitudinal channels I I9 are supported by heavy vertical membersI connected with a base structure II2 which is rigidly connected with the base structure 31. The rollers |91 and the rollers 29 are in line with each other so that the feed drawer I2 and the shutter I4 may be moved to their extended positions. As the feed drawer I2 moves from its position under the hopper, as illustrated,

. to a position on the mold I9, the shutter I4 will move from the position shown on the drawings to a. position beneath the hopper II so as to close the bottom of the hopper to prevent the material from discharging. The stationary plate I3 is supported upon the channels I I9 and serves to close the bottom of the feed drawer I2 when the feed drawer is beneath the hopper II.

The shutter Il comprises merely a fiat horizontal portion ||3 atan elevation corresponding with the top of the feed drawer I2 so as to close the bottom of the hopper as before specified. At the sides the feed drawer is provided with V- shaped projections IIl in line with the V-shaped projections 95 and for the same purpose, that is, for riding into the V-shaped grooves 18 of the hopper. Ribs IIS project from the bottom of the fiat portion II3 and are formed `with vertical slots IIS receiving pins II1 from lugs II8 projecting from the feed drawer I2 so as to flexibly connect these parts.

The means for moving the shutter I4 comprises links ||9 having pins |29 at one of their ends engaging in apertures I2| in the ribs |I5, and at their other ends pivotally connecting at |22 with radial arms |23. 'Ihese radial arms |23 several vertical support members |3| are arranged beneath the I beams |26 and the braces 35 to `add more rigidity to the frame.

A sprocket wheel |32 is xed upon the shaft |24 and carriesfa vchain |33 extended beneath an idler |34 adjustably mounted upon the bottom of the I beams |26 for changing the tensional tightness of the chain. The chain |33 also extends over another idler sprocket |35 adjustably mounted upon the brace members 35. The chain |33- is also extended over a sprocket |36 fixed upon the shaft |31 rotatively mounted in the standards 56.

A gear |38 is -fixed upon the shaft |31 and A meshes with the driver pinion 59.. A clutch cup |39 is keyed upon the shaft |31 so as to be longitudinally slidable, and has a plurality of pins 62 engageable in corresponding openings in the side of the gear |38 to couple these parts together. A spring 63 acts between the gear |38 and the clutch cup |39 to urge the parts out of engagement. A fork 61 is pivotally mounted at 68 and at its bottom end carries rollers 69 engageable with the cup |39 to urge it into a position inwhich the pins engage. A roller 64 is rotatively mounted upon the stationary shaft and bears against the clutch cup |39 which is formed with only one recess 66` arranged so that when the` roller 64 engages the recess the clutch is out of engagement, and upon rotation of the clutch cup so that the roller is not.engaged in the recess then the pins 62 of the clutch cup engage in the gear. The sprocket |36 is exactly one half the size of the sprocket V|32 so that for each complete rotation of the sprocket |36, the shaft |24 rotates one half a turn, or through an angle of 180. A link |40 pivotally connects with the fork 61 Vand extends towards the side, and pivotally connects with a control lever |4| mounted upon the shaft 14. 'Ihis control lever extends upwards and is provided with a handle at its top end for manual manipulation. A spring |42 acts between the link and the plate 13 so as t0 normally urge the fork 61 into a position which does not cause the clutch cup to assume its engaged condition.

A means is also provided for locking the operation of the feed drawer I2 when the stripper rods 46 are in their up position. This means comprises an angle plate |43 attached upon the frame of the machine and formed with a slot |44 through which the control lever |4| passes. A peg |45 .is slidably mountedupon the angle iron |43 and is adapted inv an extendedv position' to engage fin an aperture |46 formed in the lever |4| so as A, to lock -the lever againstl being moved to cause operation of the feed drawer. The peg pivotally connects with a bell crank |41 urged into a fixed position against a stop |48 by a spring |49.l A bolt |50 projects from the guide 39 and in the raised position of the guide acts againstl the bell crank |41 so as to pivot the latter element and e .the peg |45 into its locking position.

Afmeans is also provided for locking the operation of the stripper mechanism when the feed la slot |58 formed in the angle iron |43.

Upon the panel board 11 there is attached a pair of grease containers |59 which connect up with hand pumps |60 for connecting with a lu brication system, not illustrated in detail on the drawings, but for the purpose of lubricating the various rollers 20 and |01 and the other moving parts of the machine, such as the 'stripping mechanism and the feed drawer mechanism. In Figs. 10 and 12 the bearings 56 have been shown in detail. It should be noticed that the bearings comprise one integral mass of material formed with several large projections |6| provided with caps |62 constitutingthe bearings for holding the shafts 55, 59, and |31 rotatively. It is intended that the projections |6| be properly machined so that when the-standards 56 are attached in place in the machine, it will be necessary to only align one of the shafts into its true horizontal position and automatically the other shafts 59 and |31 will assume aligned positions. This arrangement saves a lot of time in the assembling of the machinein that great accuracy and skill is not necessary.

Various other pieces of electrical apparatus are attached upon the panel 11 and upon the frame of the machine. Briefly, they consist of a line switch |63, a starter motor timer |64, a limit switch |65 operable by a set screw |66 carried by the shutter I4. In addition, there is a push button switch |61. The electrical circuit is clearly illustrated in Fig. 18. It should be noticed that the line switch |63 is of the three pole type for accommodating wiring for the three phased motors 34 and |04. A starter mechanism |68 is also provided and connects with the Aline switch |63 for closing the circuit to the motors 34 and |04. In all, there is a timer circuit, a starter circuit, and means for providing additional vibrations or for completely stopping the vibrations. 'Ihe timer circuit may be traced from the power lead |69, through the limit. switch |65, and then along lead |01 to the push button switch |61. This push button switch has `two movable contacts, namely |1| and |12. From the common point of these two contacts, the timer circuit continues along lead |13 to thel timer |64, and then through the coil |14 of the timer and back along lead |15 to the return power lead. Thus when the limit switch is closed, the timer starts operating by having its switch |16 closed. The closing of switch |16 immediately starts the electric motors 34 and |04 in that a complete circuit will exist from the power lead |69 through the limit switch |65, through the element |1| of the push button switch |61, then along through the element/"|16 of the timer |64, and along, lead |11 through the coil |18 of the starter, which moves the three pole contacts of the starter to close the circuit from the line switch |63 to the motors 34 and |04. After a predetermined time, as controlled by the timer 64, the circuit will be opened by element |16 moving out of contact. A shunt lead |19 is arranged to connect with the element original condition. This motion of the lever is push button switch |61. so that the element |1| is moved out from the circuit.

The operation of the device may be traced by assuming it in the condition as illustrated in Fig. 1. The rst step would be that the operator of Vthe machine drops a pallet into each of the sections of the mold. Then he should move the lever |4| towards himself and immediately back into transmitted to the clutch cup |39 which rotates slightly in that lits pins 62 now engage the apertures in the gear. |38. yPower from the pulley is transmitted by the pinion 88 to the gear |38. The shaft |31 will now rotate until the recess 66 again rides into the stationary roller 64 when the expansion spring 63 will disconnect the parts. 'I'he rotation from shaft |31 is transmitted by the chain |33 to the shaft |24, which rotates one half a turn or 180 so that the radial arms |23 move around to be extended directly towards the left, as viewed in Fig. 1, and move the shutter I4 beneath the hopper II and the feed drawer I2 from beneath the hopper to over the mold. The counterweight |29 will now be at the extreme right, and serves to counteract the weight of the radial arms |23 so that the arms do not sag the moment 'the recess 66 reaches the roller 64. If such' sagging takes place, it is the equivalent as if the lever |4| were again moved and the feed drawer would go back into its original condition. For this reason, the counterweight is of great importance.

Material from the hopper I I which settled into the feed drawer I2 has now been moved over the mold I Il. When the feed drawer is in its fully ex*- tended position, the set screw |66 acts against the limit switch |65 to close the switch and immediately starts operations of the motors 34 and |04. The motor 34 will loperate the jolter of the mold I0 so as to completely pack the mold, while the operation of motor |04 will cause the rods 86 to reciprocate back and forth and break up possible caking of the material in the feed drawer so that it will quickly settle into the mold without` necessitating additional jolting within that to which the machine is timed. The jolting will automatically cease under the influence of the timer |64, and then the-operator must again move the lever I4| towards himv and then release it to tarily depress the clutch lcup '6| and cause it to rotate and ride out from the recess 66. The shaft 55 will now rotate one lhalf a turn, and this rotation will be transmitted by the chain 52 so as to cause the radial arm 42 to rotate from its downward position to its vertical position and move v the stripper-bars 45 upwards. These stripper rods act against the bottom of l thepallets and strip the blocks from the mold. In this condiaoaases tion or the machine, it is impossible to move the lever |4I, since it is locked against such motion, which would be injurious in that the feed drawer I2 would be projected against the stripper rods.

The operator oi.' the machine must next move the leverj1| towards'him and then release it so as to cause the clutch cup 8| to again engage and have power transmitted from the driver shaft 69 to the radial arm 42 for lowering the stripper rods. The cycle is then repeated.

It has been found that ln order for the ina-v chine to operate eiiiciently, apparatus and a method must be provided for unloading the blocks which lare stripped from the mold. This is accomplished by the provision of an overhead track |80. A power hoist |8| is slidably mounted upon track |80, and is provided with a cable |82 which supports a fork |83 to accomplish the unloading. This fork is formed by spaced U shaped K arms |84 turned upon their sides so as to have bottom arms and top arms. The bottom arms are pointed at the fronts, indicated by reference numeral |85, so as to direct its slipping in .beneath the pallets and over the topy of the mold. Stops |86 are formed upon the U shaped members of the fork so as to direct the correct insertion of the fork into place for lifting the block. The arms of the fork are of sufficient width'so as to be capable of balancing the blocks. A switch |81 is arranged upon the fork |83 .so that the operator while moving the fork into proper position may operate the switch which operates the hoist |8| to raise or lower the fork. The cable |82 from the hoist is connected tothe cenl ter ofgravity of the fork |83 so that the fork is perfectly balanced. This point is also so arranged that it is the center of gravity of the fork and the load when the concrete blocks are in place. This is possible by the provision of balance material |88 arranged between the U shaped members |84. It is intended that the fork |83 have as many arms or U shaped members as there are linesr of blocks in themold so that all of the blocks may be lifted at one time.

After the operator has the blocks slightly lifted off the mold and upon the fork, he next lmoves the fork along so that the hoist |84 travels along the track |88 to a rack |89. This rack is formed from several vertical members |98 held together by transverse tie members |9|. A plurality of horizontal angle irons |92 are arranged along sides of the rack so as to form shelves for the reception of trays. In Fig. 20 a tray |93 is illustrated for use with the rack. This tray comprises transverse members |94 supporting a plurality of longitudinal members I 95. It is proposed to have foreach line of blocks a pair of transverse mem.- bers properly spaced so that the fork arms may engage between, and the block be properly rested upon the tray.

The operator mus't first take one of the trays and place it in the lower shelf upon the rack. Then with thehoist, a group of the blocks which are stripped from the machine are deposited upon this tray. Next another tray is placed upon the rack immediately above the beforementioned tray and another group of blocks are placed in the second tray. In this fashion theoperation is continued until the rack is completely loaded, and then it is pushed out of place and a new rack brought into line for the operations to continue.

While I have'illustrated and described .my invention with some degree of particularity, I real-v A-ize that in practice various alterations therein may be made. I therefore reserve the right and privilege of changing the form of the details of construction or otherwise altering the arrangement of the correlated parts without departing from the spirit or the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

1. A mold for a concrete block machine, comprising members for forming the outsides of the blocks, cores for forming the inner sides of the blocks, and elements connecting said members and cores and having knife shaped upper edges so that material to be molded will not remain thereon and cause pallets placed in the mold to assume untrue positions.

2. In a concrete block machine, a mold supported for vertical jolting, an inclined roof structure beneath said mold to guide off seepage from said mold, stripper mechanism beneath said roof, vertical rods for said stripper mechanism passing through said roof, a frame on said rods, and vertical stripper rods on said frame.

3. In a concrete block machine, a mold supported for vertical jolting, an inclined roof structure beneath said mold to guide off seepage from said mold, stripper mechanism beneath said roof, vertical rods for said stripper mechanism passing through said roof, and vertical stripper rods supported on said vertical rods.

4. In a concrete block machine, a mold supported for vertical jolting, an inclined roof structure beneath said mold to guide oif seepage from said mold, stripper mechanism beneath said roof, vertical rods for said stripper mechanism passing through said roof, a frame on said rods, packingelements mounted on said inclined roof and slidably supporting said vertical rods, and vertical stripper rods on said frame.

5. In a concrete molding machine, a horizontal mold resiliently supported for vertical jolting, a stationary hopper on one side of said mold, a feed drawer beneath said hopper and movably supported for moving onto said mold, a shutter connected with said feed drawer for closing said hopper as the feed drawer moves out, longitudinal rods slidably mounted through said feed drawer and having their ends projecting to the exterior, resilient means urging said longitudinal rods outwards, fingers mounted on said longitudinal rods, and means for periodically moving said longitudinal rods inwards including cams acting against the extended ends of said rods.

6. In a concrete molding machine', a horizontal mold resiliently supported for vertical jolting, a stationary hopper on one side of said mold, a feed drawer beneath said hopper and movably supported for moving onto said mold, a shutter connected with said feed drawer for closing said hopper as the feed drawer moves out, longitudinal rods slidably mounted through said feed vdrawer and having their ends projecting to the exterior, resilient means urging said longitudinal rods outwards, ngers mounted on said longitudinal rods,- and means for periodically moving said longitudinal rods inwards including cams acting against the extended ends of said rods, means for preventing rotation of said longitudinal rods, and rollers upon the extended ends of the rods acting against the cams.

7. In a concrete molding machine, a horizontal mold resiliently supported for vertical jolting, a stationary hopper on one side of said mold, a feed drawer beneath said hopperA and movably supported for moving onto said mold, a shutter connected with said feed drawer for closing said hopper as the feed drawer moves out, longitudinal rods slidably mounted through said feed drawer and having their ends projecting to the exterior,

v resilient means urging said longitudinal rods outwards, lingers mounted on said longitudinal rods, and means for periodically moving said longitudi- .nal rods inwards vincluding cams acting against the extended ends of said rods, means being also provided for limiting longitudinal motion of said rods.

8. In a machine of the class described, a mold, means for jolting said mold, a stationary hopper on one side of said mold, a feed drawer beneath said hopper and movably supported for moving on to said mold, a shutter flexiblyconnected with said feed drawer for closing said hopper as the feed drawer moves on said mold, and limiting vibrations from the mold from reaching the hopper, a prime mover mounted upon said shutter and means for continuously agitating material in the feed drawer operated with said prime mover, a shaft connecting said prime mover and agitating means, and said shaft including a flexible coupling to prevent vibrations from the mold reaching the prime mover. l

9. In a machine of the class described, a shutter for closing the bottom of a hopper and flexibly connected with a feed drawer for receiving materials from said hopper and delivering. them on shaft with a flexible coupling for limiting vibra- I tions from the feed drawer reaching the electric motor.

LOUIS GELBMAN. 

